Our Utility Work

Windward is responsible for approximately 85% of the utility-helicopter services in the State of Hawai’i. Our pilots are certified not only for all FAA-regulated functions (including crop-spraying and hauling hazardous materials), but also for the more rigorous standards of the U.S. Department of Interior, the Department of Defense, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Windward Aviation currently holds 135, 133, and 137 certificates with a perfect record having never been suspended or violated by the FAA, OAS or any other Federal, State or County regulatory agency.

Maui fire department | aIR 1 fire & Rescue

Since 1990 Windward Aviation has supported the Maui County Fire Department and since 1999 has provided a dedicated aircraft and pilot to perform search and rescue operations, fire fighting, and support for other emergency operations. Windward and the Rescue 10 team has saved more lives and rescued more people than any other helicopter company throughout the state. In 2019 Windward Aviation supported the MFD, at times with all four of our aircraft, to put out 30,000 acres of fire.

In July of 2022, the MFD upgraded the AIR 1 contract to require the use of a twin-engine helicopter for search, rescue and fire fighting operations. This upgrade to a BK117-850D2 meets industry standards for safety. Not only is there an added benefit of having two engines, but the safety margins for power are greatly enhanced, the aircraft can carry up to 10 passengers, can now depart with a 250 gallon water bucket, and a hoist is now utilized for HEC work. This aircraft can also comfortably service the 5,000 sq miles of Maui County. The aircraft capabilities far outweigh the potential risks incurred in a single engine aircraft for off-shore operations and HEC work.

conservation

Hawai’i has more threatened and endangered species than anywhere in the world; therefore, monitoring, protecting and maintaining watersheds and heavily forested areas throughout these islands are of the utmost importance. Windward Aviation has developed strong, lasting relationships with federal, state and private organizations throughout Hawai’i that are committed to the preservation and conservation of this beautiful island paradise. To this end, Windward Aviation has worked extensively over the years and built hundreds of miles of fence to protect some of Hawaii’s most remote areas, spent countless hours eradicating invasive alien plant and animal species, and supported numerous cultural, archeological and scientific conservation projects.

Utility Helicopter Services

In addition to the utility work we perform with conservationists, Windward Aviation supports a variety of other projects such as lifting large pieces of machinery and building materials, pulling telephone and electrical wires, recon for the electric company, moving hazardous materials, building bridges, clearing land of brush, pouring cement, filling sand traps, and donating the aircraft to support shoreline cleanups up and down the coasts of Hawai’i.

In past years Windward Aviation has flown broad-cast sprayers over sugarcane fields and ant-baited Maui’s pineapple fields for 20 years, built every cell site in the state in 1993 and continued to upgrade the technology through the 2000s, supported federal and state police, and during the clean up project with the United States Navy on the island of Kaho’olawe logged over 30,000 hours with 900,000 take offs and landings. On Kaho’olawe Windward Aviation was instrumental in ferrying people and materials back and forth across the ‘Alalakeiki Channel, completing wide area assessments of past bombing ranges, helped cleanup crews engage in large-scale ordnance removal procedures called “blow in place,” or BIP.

Filming & photography

Windward Aviation has been at the forefront of aerial photography and filming in Hawai’i. We’ve worked on Hollywood movies like James Bond and Water World, as well as a variety of surfing documentaries with our close friends Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama.

To support filming, Windward Aviation designed and engineered our own camera mount exclusively for our aircraft. Prior to the camera mount, we were limited to handheld cameras and middle mounts, which had many limitations, most notably the inability to zoom in. With this custom mount it’s as if the camera is mounted to a tripod and can support any gyrostabilized camera system, such as the cinaflex, shotover, GSS & the Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor camera.

In partnership with Aerial Filmworks, we have logged hundreds of hours with the Lidar sensor to survey land & map terrain for geologists. In 2019, we worked on the island of Hawai’i for 3 weeks to survey the land after the Pu’u ‘O’o vent drained and fissures formed along the Northeast rife of Kilauea in 2018. During the survey there was upwelling as much as 1 foot and movement of 2.5 feet over a 24-hour period! At 500 feet altitude, 55 mph, and +/- 15 foot, basically maintaining as straight of a line as possible, we mapped the terrain so geologists can better understand the effects of volcanic activity.

big wave surfing

Yes, that is our yellow helicopter you see fly into the jaws of Pe’ahi. For over thirty years we’ve captured epic footage of the surfers riding these monstrous fifty-foot waves. In recent years, The World Surf League has hosted the Pe’ahi Big Wave Challenge where Windward Aviation has been the exclusive helicopter on set to film the entire competition.